


New Waters

by IntoTheMiddleDistance



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Established Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade, Fluff, Greg is Sweet, Light Angst, M/M, Mycroft Holmes Has Feelings, Sherlock Holmes & John Watson Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24725026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IntoTheMiddleDistance/pseuds/IntoTheMiddleDistance
Summary: Takes place chronologically at the beginning of "A Study in Pink." Mycroft and Greg are in a new but established relationship and John Watson has just entered the picture.Mycroft goes to Greg's flat to share information he's gathered on John but ends up staying for a film and learning some information of his own.
Relationships: Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade
Comments: 1
Kudos: 64





	New Waters

**Author's Note:**

> I guess this is technically a one-shot. In my mind it's directly related to "A bright spot," but you don't have to have read that for this to make sense. 
> 
> Just fluffy, slightly angsty Mystrade. Un beta'd and un Brit-picked.

Mycroft was one signature away from leaving his office for the evening when his mobile rang, but it wasn’t his work line. It was his personal mobile, and he could count on one hand the number of people who even knew he had a personal phone. There was really ever only one person who used it to contact him.

“Hello Gregory,” he said warmly.

“Who the fuck is John Watson, Myc?” Greg asked, sounding very flustered.

Mycroft immediately opened his laptop back up and found his CCTV camera network. It was the work of seconds to find Greg at a crime scene, looking stressed and making eye contact with what he clearly thought was Mycroft’s surveillance camera. He was in fact looking just to the left of the actual camera, which made Mycroft smile. There were two other men still on the scene, Sherlock and one other, who had to be John Watson.

“Interesting,” he said out loud for Greg’s benefit, “I’ll pick him up.”

“That’s not what I meant and it's really not neces–“ Greg began, but Mycroft hung up on him. He had arrangements to make.

As he drove to the abandoned warehouse to meet John Watson and see what the man was made of, he realized that hanging up on his boyfriend had been quite rude. So he sent a quick text message - _Apologies for hanging up on you, Gregory. Dinner tonight?_ The reply came almost instantly.

 _You’re a complete prat, Mycroft. I can’t believe you’ve abducted John Watson from my crime scene._ And a second one quickly followed that – _absolutely dinner tonight, you can come to mine and we’ll get takeaway._

Mycroft smiled again, sent an affirmative text message, and prepared to deduce John Watson.

********

Greg was already sitting on his couch with his shoes off, box of Chinese takeaway in his hand, when someone politely knocked on his door.

“Come on in, Myc!” He called out.

His boyfriend entered Greg’s small flat as comfortably as he did his own massive home. He set his umbrella and shoes by the door, hung up his suit jacket and loosened his tie, as unbuttoned as Mycroft Holmes ever got. Greg grinned at him.

“You don’t have to knock, you know. You can just come in.”

“I don’t like to presume, Gregory. And you could be in the middle of something.”

Greg wiggled his eyebrows at Mycroft. “Maybe I wouldn’t mind you coming in ‘in the middle of something.’”

Mycroft’s face flushed slightly as he joined Greg on the sofa.

“What kind of Chinese did you order?” He asked. 

Greg knew Mycroft was avoiding his double entendre on purpose but he let it slide. He had learned over the past month exactly how fast he could move when it came to his and Mycroft’s relationship. The redheaded man hadn’t really even had a friend before, much less a boyfriend. And Greg didn’t mind taking things slow, though he wanted to kiss Mycroft more than anything. But he would give the other man as long as he needed to navigate through these new waters.

Despite all his brilliant deductive powers, Mycroft couldn’t see how head over heels in love with him Greg was. The next time Sherlock had shown up at Greg’s crime scene, the younger Holmes had instantly deduced (with a great deal of shouting) that Greg was in love. Surprisingly though, Sherlock seemed content to hold onto the information without passing it on to Mycroft, which suited Greg just fine.

Mycroft’s voice broke through Greg’s reverie. The other man had taken his hand.

“Are you alright, Gregory?”

Greg smiled at him. “A bit tired, that’s all. This case – we’re definitely looking for a serial killer, and that’s going to be a complete nightmare, even with Sherlock’s help.”

“Would you like to know everything about John Watson?” Mycroft asked. Greg chuckled.

“I don’t need to know everything, Mycroft. You can let the man keep his secrets. Just tell me what I need to know, starting with – is he going to keep showing up at my crime scenes with your brother?”

“Yes,” said Mycroft, “John Watson is, as you no doubt were already aware, a doctor. Former army, now discharged because of his injury.”

“Yeah, I noticed the cane,” said Greg.

“He doesn’t actually need it, the limp is entirely psychosomatic, the bullet wound is in his shoulder. He seems to have formed quite an attachment to Sherlock, very quickly, which is unusual.”

“I formed an attachment to you very quickly,” Greg pointed out, which earned him a rare, genuine smile.

“I suppose my brother and I both have found one person in the universe who is capable of becoming attached to us.”

The urge to kiss Mycroft on the lips surged up in Greg before he ruthlessly tamped it down because he knew _Mycroft wasn’t ready_. He passed Mycroft the box of lo mien instead.

“Do you have to get home immediately or could you stay and watch a film?” Greg asked.

“Did you have one in mind?”

“I’ll show you my collection,” Greg got up off the couch and opened his DVD cabinet.

********

Two hours later, Mycroft sat on Greg’s couch with the other man’s head in his lap while onscreen the credits rolled. Gregory had fallen asleep around an hour into the film and had steadily shifted until more and more of his person was on Mycroft. It was incredibly endearing, the way Greg sought closeness in his sleep, and Mycroft felt a pang of regret that he wasn’t giving Greg what he needed. He knew Gregory would wait forever until Mycroft decided he was ready to advance their relationship and wouldn’t ever complain. But he’d seen the way Greg looked at him sometimes, like he just wanted to close the gap between them and put his lips on Mycroft’s. Or pull him into a deep, bone-crushing embrace and never let go. And Mycroft truly did not know what to do about that, because he wanted those things too. But they also terrified him.

Unlike his boyfriend, who was charming and likable and made friends very quickly, Mycroft had only ever had a handful of acquaintances, nothing he’d go so far as to call a friendship. In his profession, anything beyond a working relationship was ill advised. If something were to happen in his and Gregory’s relationship, Greg had a support system in place and would no doubt bounce back quickly. Mycroft only had Greg.

“Myc?” Greg mumbled sleepily, slowing waking up in Mycroft’s lap.

“You’ve missed the movie,” Mycroft said softly, fondly, wishing he could hold on to this moment just a little longer. Greg, unfailingly polite, would soon apologize for falling asleep on Mycroft, and move back to the other side of the couch.

“You’re very comfortable,” said Greg, sounding slightly more awake. He was watching Mycroft’s face intently, but didn’t show any signs of moving.

“Perhaps I’ve missed my calling as a pillow,” said Mycroft coolly, and Greg snorted.

“I’d take you in my bed any night,” and then he realized what he’d said and started to backtrack “shit, Myc, I’m sorry. I keep making sex jokes at you and I know you’re not interested in that –“

“Not – interested?” Mycroft repeated, genuinely shocked. “Not _interested_? Gregory Lestrade, you are a brilliant man, a detective inspector for Scotland Yard. Surely you aren’t telling me you think I am not _interested_ in someday having sex with you?”

Greg’s eyes were wide with shock, but he still hadn’t moved from Mycroft’s lap. His mouth opened and closed several times but nothing came out.

“You are _infuriating_ ,” Mycroft said, dragging the other man up and pressing their lips together.

In the moment, it had seemed like the right thing to do, and thankfully Gregory quickly took control of the kiss, wrapping his arms around Mycroft and pulling him close. Eventually they separated, although it wasn’t very far and Greg closed the distance quickly for a second round. Several minutes later, breathing heavily, hair disheveled, they broke apart long enough for Mycroft to say,

“You have been incredibly noble about respecting my boundaries, but please don’t think for one _second_ that I don’t want you, Gregory. It’s merely my own inexperience and nerves making me –“

“You’re doing wonderfully, Myc,” said Greg, “I won’t ever push you further than you’re willing to go. What we have is too valuable.”

The words _I love you_ rose up in Mycroft’s throat, but he couldn’t quite get them past his lips. One day, though, one day he would be able to. Instead he drew Gregory in close and kissed him again. 

**Author's Note:**

> They kissed! Relationship development for the win!
> 
> Anyway thanks for reading! Comments/kudos/constructive criticism always accepted.


End file.
